SUBJECTS: Science
YEARS: 7–8, 9–10
Discover what threatens a native Australian predator and how scientists are hoping to save it from extinction.
This clip about quolls in the Northern Territory describes the causes of its decline and a rescue strategy to save it from extinction.
The strategy has a surprising twist — it features the very thing that is threatening the quolls in the wild.
Things to think about
- 1.Like many native Australian predators, the quoll is threatened with extinction. What things might be causing their numbers to decline? A clue to the main threat of the northern quoll is what they eat. What do you think this is?
- 2.As you watch the clip, make note of the steps involved in the quoll rescue strategy. What is the role of the secret ingredient added to the sausages? Quolls are referred to in the clip as 'students'. Why is this analogy used?
- 3.At the end of the clip, the narrator talks about the increased survival chance of released quolls. Do you think this rescue strategy will be enough to ensure the survival of northern quolls? Can you think of any other ways of helping quolls to avoid their main threat?
- 4.Use the internet to research the introduction and spread of cane toads in Australia. You could create a map to show the spread of cane toads over time. Investigate the threats faced by other quoll species and their conservation status under the EPBC Act .
Date of broadcast: 10 Jun 2010
Copyright
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